A coincidence to remember
by BooksAndCleverness7
Summary: On her way home via the London Underground Lucy Foster meets a stranger who shares most of the same interests with her- Purely due to coinsidence! Will their be future meetings? Or will they both just forget about their short encounter? DanisnotonfireXOC, AmazingPhil
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: An unexpected meeting**

"Crap!" I curse as I turn around the corner onto the platform I need. The tube looks quite full and I can tell that the doors will most likely be closing any minute. I have to call it: Do I wait for the next one? Do I go for it?

I hesitate only for a second before I begin to run towards the closest carriage, dodging the many people lingering idly on the platform. When I'm close enough I jump into the carriage and manage to get in far enough that no part of my body or clothing will get caught in the doors (an experience I know all too well when my handbag got caught in them when I was 12 on a school trip to London). Not to soon either, as the doors beeped and slid shut moments after I had jumped on.

"Yes!" I cheer in victory. Slightly louder than I meant to judging from the looks the people standing close by shot at me. I awkwardly smiled and shuffled away to hold onto the pole not far away from me.

The tube started to move and I gripped on tighter to the pole, knowing all too well my balance is terrible at the best of times. As the tube comes to a stop at the next platform, I manage to only sway slightly with the momentum. The same, however, can't be said for the boy standing next to me. It seemed that I happened to be the perfect height for his elbow.

"Oww!" I cried as the elbow in question collided with my boob.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" questioned the boy, looking down at me slightly embarrassed.

Something about his face made the whole situation quite amusing rather than awful (which he was no doubt expecting me to think was the case), so my reply threw him off slightly.

"It's okay- I'm fine. It's not like getting elbowed in the boob hurts or anything. Don't worry about it" I smirked

"Oh God, I really am sorry. Please don't hurt me" He didn't seem to know what to do, other than apologise and cringe slightly. He must know that it does hurt. Like hell.

I giggle slightly at his earnest. "I'm only joking! It was an accident after all. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" I smile reassuringly, trying to ease the awkwardness.

The boy nods and smiles back. I turn away slightly so I can make sure I don't miss my stop. The normal silence of the tube is back now, save for the sounds of the brakes screeching and the tube turning corners. The boy clears his throat.

"I, uh, like your top by the way. They're an amazing band"

I look down at my top as-most people do when someone compliments them on their outfits- and notice that today I was sporting a Muse T-shirt I bought from one of their gigs.

"Thanks", I say in reply to the compliment. No doubt he's just trying to make it less awkward between us, but I'm curious, "Do you like them too?"

He smiles, obviously pleased that the conversation is a normal one. "Yeah, they're one of my favourite bands of all time".

I grin slightly at his enthusiasm and that he genuinely likes Muse

"Same here! Which album of theirs do you like the most?"

He replies without any hesitation "Origin of Symmetry. You?"

I seriously can't help the grin that creeps back onto my face, as I tell him I like Origin of Symmetry the most as well. I can't believe how much I have in common with this stranger I happened to meet coincidently.

He smiles "Wow, we have so much in common! How are we not best friends?" he says in a voice that I can only describe as sarcastic, with a hint of mock enthusiasm. But it makes me laugh none the less.

"Maybe because I've never seen you in my life before?" I pull a face that says 'I dunno, just saying' and shrug.

This seems to pull him up short. "You don't recognise me?" he asks and I can't help but notice that he looks a little shocked.

I shake my head, frowning slightly "Why, should I?"

Shrugging, he holds out his hand towards me " We didn't get off to the best of starts", he still looks a little embarrassed about this even though he laughs slightly before continuing, "So let's start over. Hi, I'm Dan". He smiles in what I have to admit a rather attractive way.

I blush as I realise this and quickly grab his hand, managing to keep my cool enough to say "Lucy" before giving him a quick smile and releasing his hand.

"See, it's not so bad now we're not_ complete _strangers" he has a laugh in his voice as he says this, and for what feels like the millionth time since I met him I can't keep the smile off my face.

I snap out of the trance I seemed to be under when I realise I hadn't been paying attention to the stops. I look at the platform we are currently waiting at and see mine is the next one. I sigh with a mixture of relief and sadness.

Dan seemed to notice my sudden alarm and was looking at me strangely.

"You haven't missed your stop have you?" he queries, guessing that that was the reason for my panic.

I shake my head.

"When are you getting off?" he asked it as an innocent question, but I was weary to answer him in case he followed me off. I mean, I had only just met him _and_ it was on the tube. There are _a lot_ of creepers in London.

"When are _you _getting off?" I shoot back.

"Next stop" He replies, glancing at the map above the doors.

I eye him up suspiciously "Are you stalking me?"

Dan's eyes widen with surprise and a slight blush brightens his tanned skin

"No no no no, God no!" He holds up his free hand to show his innocence and shakes his head quickly. I stare at him a little longer before deciding he's telling the truth.

"Okay then. I believe you." I let my eyes wander to outside the tube and hear him let out a sigh in relief.

It's slightly awkward again, as we get off the tube and follow the crowd towards the way out. Dan frequently adjusts his dark brown hair and I can't help but notice how straight it is. He must use straighteners.

As we step onto the escalator, I ask him something that had been bugging me for a while now.

"Dan, why were you surprised that I didn't recognise you? Are you a celebrity or something?"

Dan looks at me briefly and scoffs "No way"

"Then why.." I begin before he cuts me off

"It's not something bad! It's just that I get recognised sometimes from YouTube. I have a vlog on there. I had half a suspicion that you were a fan in disguise." As he says the last bit, he starts doing some ninja poses and begins to laugh. His laugh is so infectious, I join in before I know it.

We swipe our oyster cards on the ticket barriers and push past the hordes of people around the exist into the drizzly London air.

We stand there for a moment, un sure what to do next. Dan clears his throat the same way he did on the tube, before he asks, "So, um, I was wondering…did you want to go grab a drink? If you're not busy that is"

I smile at his nervousness. "That depends. Are you sure you're not a stalker? Or a murderer?" I joke, pushing his arm slightly to let him know that.

"I'm pretty sure actually" he says in a joking voice, more confident than before. He runs a hand through his hair again.

"Then I think I have enough time for a quick drink"

We grin at each other as we walk in the direction of the near buy Starbucks. I'm honestly taken aback by how easy it is to be around Dan. It may surprise you to know that I don't exactly go around talking to strangers, but this time is different. I'm oddly happy about being elbowed in the boob.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Getting to know you  
**

We ordered our drinks and grabbed an empty table in the corner of the room. We both took long sips of our drinks before continuing with the conversation.

"So how long have you been in London?" Dan asks placing his cup back onto the table.

I paused, thinking back to the first day I moved into the apartment with Maddie. _How long ago had it been?_

"About a year, I think", I say in reply to Dan's question, "I moved after I had finished college so I could attend the university here". _Had it really been that long? _I thought to myself, shocked at how fast the time has seen to go by.

It was true that I felt like I'd been living with Maddie in that apartment for years and that my daily routine was now second nature to me, but at the same time it feels like only a couple of months ago we had moved out here.

I blinked out of my own thoughts and looked over at Dan. He was staring at something to his left, as if he was thinking. I was about to ask him if he was okay when he snapped out of his own thoughts and said "About half a year", and looked over at me.

"What?"

"I've been living in London roughly half a year or so. I moved from Manchester when my friend suggested I live over hear with him in his new apartment."

He takes a sip of his drink, before rushing to add "Not as, like, a couple or anything".

I smirk at him, realising that most people must assume that he's in a relationship with his friend. _You know your best friends when people think you're gay with each other _I think, remembering a post Maddie had found on Tumblr that applied to us.

I wave my drink at him slightly, "Don't worry, I know what you mean. I'm the same".

I almost choke on my tea when I realised I had basically just hinted that I was gay with Maddie.

"In the sense that I live with my friend because it's easier and cheaper and not that we're, um, together" I feel my face heat up. I can't believe I just did the exact same thing I was smirking at seconds before.

"Course not", said Dan in a sarcastic voice and winked at me. My face became even hotter as I looked down and took another sip of my tea.

Dan laughed at my reaction and nudged my leg under the table slightly.

"Hey, I'm only joking", he said smiling sweetly at me.

I nodded as I took another sip of my drink. Dan ran his hand through his hair again.

"So, what's your friend's name? Is he a YouTuber too?" I ask having regained my composure.

"Yeah, his names Phil. We do videos together quote a lot, and he's quite easy to live with." Dan smiles as if remembering past events of himself and Phil, and I can't help but be a bit a jealous.

I mentally slap myself. That was a stupid thing to think. _Come on Lucy! Don't be an idiot!_

We carry on asking each other questions, ranging from our favourite bands (other than Muse) to our daily lives. This continues a while after we finish our drinks, but we don't mind. We do, however, become aware at how dark it's becoming outside and so decide to make our way home.

"Do you want me to walk you back, or are you okay getting home?" Dan asks, grimacing slightly at the wind that's picked up while we had been inside.

"I'll be okay getting back on my own, it's not far from here" I say. I kick myself. _Shit,_ I think, _why the hell did I say that?! _

"Oh, okay then". I instantly know Dan is dejected, so I quickly route around in my back for a pen and my note book. I hurriedly rip out a small piece of paper and scrawl my name and my number on it, while I feel Dan's confused stare on me the whole time. I straighten up and am about to hand the paper to him when I hesitate.

"This is my number if you- if you want it" I stutter. I've never been good at speaking to people directly, especially when they happen to be a very attractive male with the same interests as me.

Dan takes the piece of paper with my number from me with a slight laugh.

"Well, normally I don't take girls numbers when they offer them too me", this made my face go slightly red, "but then again, those girls tend to be creepy 12 year olds so.."

I can't help but laugh, imagining this situation happening and I know that he wasn't lying when he said that.

"I'm not sure whether I should be worried or relieved", I sigh.

Dan grins at me and takes the pen that I'm still holding from my hand. He pulls out a piece of crumpled up paper from his pocket and quickly writes something down. He hands back the pen and the paper he had just written on and I'm stunned to see that on it was his name and his number.

I looked up at him as he said, "Both" and winks at me. He points to the piece of paper he gave me. "That's so you don't think I'm a stalker or a murderer when I call you" and I can't help but laugh at my own idiocy.

"Thanks, that reassures me loads" I smirk and I receive a dimpled smile in return as he ran his hand through his wind swept hair.

"See you later then" Dan says, waving slightly.

"Byeee" I say, waving back and turning away in the direction of the apartment.

We both set off in our opposite directions, allowing the cold air to cool our heated faces. I pull my mobile from my coat pocket. The display shows that I have a text message from Maddie. It reads:

_**Where the hell are you? Are you dead? Hurry up and get your ass back here so we can order Chinese, peasant!**_

I smile as I read it, knowing that she will forget all about how long she's waited to eat when I tell her about my day. I write her a message back, giddy with excitement, saying:

_**On my way back now. Boy, do I have a story to tell you when I get in.**_

Smiling to myself, I hit send.

**Sorry that I didn't say this last time, but hello! This is my first time writing a fanfic for all to see so I hope you like it! Please comment and review so that I know whether I'm doing a good job, thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-The roommate's reaction**

After we had ordered our Chinese and were seated comfortably I began telling Maddie about my encounter with Dan. I began by describing his features: His tanned skin, his chocolate coloured eyes, his dark brown hair and even small details such as his cheeky smile and the many bands on his wrist from gigs.

At first Maddie was excited and making small comments, but as my story went on I noticed her small fall. She began to hang on my every word and looking at me intensely, like she was trying to decipher a code in my words. I carried on regardless, pausing only to go and answer the door for the Chinese.

Once I had finished, there was silence. I look over at Maddie, only to notice she has disappeared. I sigh in frustration. She always did thing like that, it was like living with a cat the majority of the time. She pranced back over to the settee from her room, laptop in hand. She quickly flips it open and begins typing rapidly across the keyboard, exiting the tabs she had previously been on before I had gotten back home.

I watch her curiously, hungrily shovelling noodles into my mouth. We never bothered with manners in the apartment. We never had bothered even when we were in Secondary school.

Without warning she pushes her laptop towards me.

"Is this the guy you met today?" she asks, tilting her head slightly.

I inspect the screen, putting my food onto the coffee table. The site we're on is not Facebook, which I had been expecting it to be, but is YouTube. My heart picks up slightly as I remember what Dan had said earlier today,

_It's just that I get recognised sometimes from YouTube. I have a vlog on there._

I click on the video, named 'What not to do on public transport', and it begins to play. I watch as Dan begins to talk about how he had moved to London, and how that has led to his hatred of public transport. I know I'm staring stupidly at the screen, but I can't help it. I'm completely dumbfounded. And then he mentions the doors. And elbowing short females while on the subway. I feel my face grow hotter as I realise that what he has just explained is what happened earlier on that day.

I pause the video and look up at Maddie. We stare at each other for a moment, neither of us speaking and then Maddie begins to scream.

"HOLY SHIT! YOU MET DAN! YOU MET _THE_ DANISNOTON FIRE! YOU LUCKY PIECE OF SHIT!" As she was shouting this she jumped onto me and started shaking me by the shoulders. Needless to say, I was terrified.

"Maddie, calm down. Maddie. MADDIE STOP!" I shout as she jumps of the settee, knocking things off the table and sending cushions flying. I catch her laptop in time before it too joins the increasing number of objects on the floor and Maddie jumps around the room squealing and flapping her arms.

But she isn't listening to me, she just continues to scamper around the room making inhuman sounds and repeating "Freakin' Danisnotonfire" over and over again.

"Jeez, you're more excited about this than I am", I huff, as I start eating my noodles again (still keeping an eye on Maddie to make sure she doesn't damage herself or anything in the room).

"Of course I'm excited!" Maddie said in the same tone she uses when I say something she considers stupid or obvious.

"My best friend and my best YouTuber! Together!" She squeals as she flops back down onto the settee. "Well, one of them anyway", she mumbles, picking up her own Chinese and beginning to take huge mouthfuls. Obviously she's trying to make up for the time she wasted fangirling when she could have been eating instead.

I pick up the remote control from the table and turn on the TV and begin flipping through the different channels. "You shouldn't get your hopes up you know," I say in between mouthfuls, "We only met this once. If he's as popular as he seems then he might just forget about me." But I can't help smirking. I may be a pessimist, just like Maddie, but she has an excitable personality which tends to be infectious.

"You have each other's numbers right?"

I nod in response.

"Then what are you worrying about! I'm sure he'll call! From what you say, I bet he likes you just as much as you like him." Her tone had become reassuring; no doubt she had noticed how nervous I was despite my excitement.

I smile to myself as I settle on a music channel we both like. She may be as much of a handful as a small child and a cat rolled into one, but she was the type of person I got along well with. And I'm grateful she is the way she is because despite myself, I too was becoming excited.

"I hope so." I say in reply to what Maddie just said.

"So do I!" she says thickly. I look over at her to see that she has shoved too much food in her mouth and she was having difficulty chewing. The site of it makes me burst out laughing, met with complaints from Maddie as she tries not to laugh herself, which only made me laugh even more until my eyes were streaming and I was finding it difficult to breathe in.

Once we had both calmed down, Maddie suggests that we watch some of Dan's videos.

I look over at her, swallowing hard. "I don't know…I mean, I think it would be weird. I don't want to be, like, another fan obsessed with 'danisnotonfire'." At this point I formed little quotation marks in the air with my fingers.

"I want to get to know the _real _Dan, before I get to know _this _Dan." I say, pointing to the laptop with his video still paused.

"But that _is _the real Dan!" whined Maddie. I just shook my head, trying to ignore the bottom lip she was now sticking out at me.

"Fine," She huffed, throwing her hands up slightly, "what about if we watch the ones where there's Dan AND Phil? There's not that many of them."

I can tell from her body language and her tone that she wasn't excited about me and Dan anymore -not as much anyway- and that now she just wanted to share something she loved with me. I knew the feeling, remembering the many times I'd gushed about things she didn't know about, because I had wanted someone to share it with. So I caved.

"Okay then", I sighed, picking the remote up again and turning the TV off once more, "There was nothing good on anyway."

**Thank you everyone for reading! Please review, message me, follow etc. so I know that what I'm doing is right or not. Until next time! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-The call**

"What? He hasn't called yet?!" Cried Maddie, sitting up suddenly from the settee.

"No, he hasn't." I replied, hanging my coat up on the hanger.

"But it's been _three days_!" Maddie said, lying back down with a huff.

I sighed as I slipped my shoes off and placed them in the allotted space. I walked into my room to drop my bag off as Maddie continued to pester me with questions.

"Are you sure? I mean, maybe he texted you instead and your phone was on silent or something. Have you checked your phone? Is it switched on?"

"Yes I'm sure! For goodness sake Maddie, give it a rest!" I snapped.

I immediately felt guilty about speaking so harshly towards Maddie.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I sighed, "I'm disappointed too."

Silence.

_It's your own fault,_ I mentally scolded,_ you shouldn't have taken your frustration out on her._

I shifted my weight and took a step towards my room when Maddie spoke.

"It's your turn to cook. It better be something freakin' amazing after that little outburst." I couldn't see her face from where I was standing, but I could tell that she was only _slightly_ miffed.

"Is pasta bake okay?" I asked carefully.

"Yeah, I guess so." Maddie replied grudgingly.

The corners of my mouth twitched up slightly at her child-like stubbornness.

"Okay then. I'll take a shower and then I'll get started." I emptied the change from my left pocket and my mobile from my right on to the kitchen work top before going into the bathroom.

**Maddie's P.O.V **

The bathroom door closed with a slight click. _Geez, she must be really upset to get agitated that easily _I thought, looking over my shoulder briefly at the door Lucy had just disappeared through.

_Oh well, I guess I _was_ pestering her a bit…_

I sighed through my nose and slumped further into my internet position, diverting my attention to my screen. I must have become pretty engrossed in Tumblr because I jumped out of my seat at the sound of music suddenly playing.

I sat breathing deeply for a second, trying to calm my racing heart, before realising that the song playing was 'Panic Station' by Muse. I quickly looked around, pushing my laptop off of my knees and jumping up from the settee. I spotted Lucy's mobile on the kitchen counter (where she often places it) and lunged for it.

"Hello?" I asked after hurriedly unlocking the phone.

"Err, hi, it's Dan. Is Lucy there?" An all too familiar voice asked.

I squealed slightly and jumped around, waving my arms, unable to stop myself from screeching his name excitedly.

I quickly forced myself to gain control when I heard "Hello? Hello?" coming from the mobile I had forgotten I was holding. I quickly held it to my ear again.

"Ah, yes sorry. No, Lucy isn't here at the moment. I'll take a message for her though if you want?" I shuffled over to the landline phone where we kept a note-book and a pen.

"Oh, okay. Could you ask her if she's free tomorrow night? Around six/half six?" Dan asked as I scribbled it down.

"Yeah sure, she should be able to make it," I commented. "Anything else?" I was shocked at how easily I could actually talk to him.

"Um no that's it really. Oh, could you tell her to call be back when she gets the chance?"

"Sure." I say simply, swallowing down the millions of questions trying to escape my throat.

"Thanks..." He trailed off, seeming to realise that he doesn't actually know who I am.

"Maddie. I'm Lucy's friend." I can't help but giggle happily. Dan knows my name. DANISNOTONFIRE KNOWS MY NAME! MINE!

"Well, thank you Maddie. It was nice talking to you." I giggle even more when I hear the smile in his voice. He really is one of the nicest people ever.

"No problem!" I say, smiling myself.

Dan laughs his adorable laugh before saying "Bye" and hanging up after I had replied with my cry of "Bye!"

I hung up the phone, threw it down on to the settee and ran to the bathroom door.

"LUCY!" I bellowed "LUCY, DAN JUST CALLED! HE'S INVITED YOU ON A DATE!" I laughed in a slightly manic way, giddy from the conversation and my happiness for Lucy.

"WHAT?" I heard Lucy shout in disbelief. I heard the water turn off and the squeak of feet on the wet bath tub. There was a loud _Thud!_ and a resulting curse. A moment later the door flew open to reveal Lucy wrapped in her towel and dripping wet.

"Did you say Dan called? He actually called?!"

I nodded in reply, which earns me a squeal of excitement and a crushing hug. Lucy let me go when I started complaining of how she was still wet so she was making my shirt damp.

"He asked for you to ring him back." I said, pulling my shirt away from my front slightly.

Lucy padded over to where I had thrown her mobile, unlocked it, tapping the touch screen a couple of times before holding it to her ear. I went back to my seat and refreshed the page on my laptop as Lucy began to inform Dan that she could in fact make it, that 6:30 was fine, and then let him know our address. She finished her conversation and hung up- then just sat there.

I looked up at her to see that her face was glowing, she was that happy, but she was staring off into space. "Luce?" I asked concerned. It was a lot to take in, to be fair.

She turned to me and I was surprised to see she looked slightly panicked. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Oh God Maddie, what the hell am I going to wear?!" She cried downheartedly.

I looked at her for a minute and saw that she was seriously worrying about her outfit for the date. And I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, I'm serious! I don't know what to wear and this is important-Stop laughing!" She whined, crossing her arms and pouting. She may say that I'm a child, but so was she sometimes.

"I'm sorry!" I said, straightening up and fanning my face to try and calm down "It just took me by surprise that you would stress out over your outfit already!"

She frowned at me.

"Besides," I continued after clearing my throat, "You always wear nice outfits, so you have nothing to worry about." I turned back to my laptop and refreshed the page. My eyes wandered to the right hand corner of my screen and I made a small noise in the back of my throat.

"Aw hell no! Luuuuuuce, It's getting really late! Can you start dinner yet pleeeeease?" I complained, gesturing to the small clock on my laptop.

"Okay, okay! Let me get dressed first!" And with that she got to her feet, smiling slightly, and walked quickly into her room. The door shut with the same soft _click! _as the bathroom door.

I relaxed back into my internet position, getting comfy now all the excitement was over. _For now anyway _I thought, amused. Tomorrow was going to be fresh hell. I paused in the action of scrolling down my dash, to shout over in the direction of Lucy's room:

"Hey Luce! It's okay if I write a FanFic about you and Dan, right?"

**Hey guys! Thank you for reading so far and I hope you liked it! I'm extremely grateful to those of you who have reviewed, added to favourites and followed- it's really giving me the confidence to continue to write this story! **

**If you haven't reviewed yet, then please do! I welcome all comments. Also, I have realised I made a few spelling mistakes in my previous chapters so I would like to apologise to you and I will try to proof read my chapters better from now on.**

**Much love guys x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Date night**

"Right. What about this one?" I ask, extending my arms out at my sides slightly and looking down. I had been trying on different combinations of clothes for the past hour, and was beginning to lose both hope and sense.

"Hmm…" Pondered Maddie, standing with her arms cross and her face scrutinising me from head to toe, and then back up again. She motioned for me to turn.

"Maybe if you swap your top for that jumper you wore a couple of outfits ago…" I heard Maddie ponder.

I sighed slightly as I trudged back into my room for the millionth time, threw my current top onto the pile of already discarded items and pulled on the jumper. I paused on my way to my door, looking at myself in the mirror.

I had on black tight fitting jeans and a turquoise and white knitted jumper accompanied by brown boots. My eyes travelled to my hair, which was straightened as usual. I then assessed my make-up. I had kept it simple- just black mascara and black liquid eyeliner to make my eyes pop.

_Yes, this is definitely my favourite outfit I've tried on…But it's still missing something…_

I move over to where my jewellery tree stood on top of my drawers and pick up my favourite necklace. It's a pocket watch necklace I had picked up at Camden Market years ago. Placing it around my neck I walk back over to the mirror and look at myself again. I nod in approval at myself before walking back to resume them spot I was standing in before.

"Ta-daa!" I say, holding my arms out at my sides. Maddie claps happily with a happy exclamation, making my shoulders sag slightly in relief. _Few, I won't have to try any more clothes on._

I glance at clock to see how long I have left until Dan comes to meet me. My heart beats nervously as I realise I only have half an hour left until he gets here. My mouth has gone dry and I realise I haven't drank anything since my cup of tea a few hours ago.

I grab a glass and fill it with water and glug it down before picking my handbag up (I only have one so I didn't need to spend ages picking it out) and emptying everything out of it. Pleased that most of the things I needed were already in it, I began to put them back in. Purse, comb, pen, notebook, tube map (Yes, I still liked to keep one handy), tissues, compact mirror, lip-gloss. I placed my mobile into my coat pocket (again, I only really had one that I wore out) and I was more or less ready.

I glanced at the clock again and decided I might as well let Maddie know what she can eat.

"Right, there's leftover pasta in the fridge if you want that for dinner." I say from where I'm still leaning on the counter. Maddie just grunts and nods slightly in acknowledgement having become bored already.

"And if you need anything call me." Another grunt. "Seriously," I continue, "If you murder someone or set the place on fire please call me. Don't just go back on Tumblr".

She manages to mumble and "okay" to which I roll my eyes. I know that she's bored now, but when I'm gone she'll become even worse and start ringing me up whining about it. Realising this, I add, "But if neither of them happen, try not to call. I don't need to know how bored you are. Okay?"

Now she's the one rolling her eyes as she mumbles "Fine."

There's three knocks on the door, making us both jump slightly. I quickly grab my bag and unlock the door. I pull it back and I can't stop a grin when I see him. He has on a black and white patterned jumper, mostly covered up by his black coat, and dark grey skinny jeans.

He returns my grin. "Ready to go?" he asks, adjusting his hair slightly. This makes me smile even more. Its ridiculous how you can miss slight habits people have.

"Yup" I say in reply and turn slightly to shout "bye" to Maddie, when I realise she has suddenly materialised next to me. _Oh no._

"Hi Dan!" Maddie says excitedly and I can tell that she has switched to fangirl mode. _Oh God no!_

Dan looks taken aback for a moment, before recognition shows in his face. "Oh Hello, you must be Maddie!" He smiles at her kindly. "Thanks again for giving my message to Lucy. I would of called sooner but I have had l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y tons of work to do for Radio1."

With this, he turns to me and says apologetically "Sorry Lucy, I know that's not a very good excuse but…" he trails of awkwardly, looking down.

"No no it's fine! Honestly, I understand. Work is very important. Besides, it's good that you have your priorities sorted out." He looks up at me and I smile kindly.

"THAT IS SO CUTE OH MY GOD THAT IS GOING INTO MY FANFIC!" Yells Maddie, squealing happily. We both look at her blushing slightly. God, she is so embarrassing sometimes.

"Right, so shall we-"

"Is it okay if I have a photo with you Dan?!" Maddie asks as she rushes forwards. When the hell did she pick that camera up?

"Um, okay." And with that Dan put his arm around Maddie's shoulder and the flash went off.

"Thanks! So there's pasta in the fridge right?" Maddie asks me, walking back into the apartment.

I slam the door and lock it quickly, not answering. I then stand there with my head resting on the door, embarrassment and anger heating my face.

"Sorry about that," I say to the door, "She's a big fan." I turn away from the door, putting my keys into my coat pocket. We begin to walk away from the apartment.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get your turn too." Dan says casually. I look at him quickly and he winks at me before laughing slightly at my red face.

"So where are we going?" I ask, trying to rein back the normality of the evening.

"Well, I was thinking that we could go grab something to eat and then go to the cinema…Is that okay?" Asks Dan, looking at me for conformation.

"Sounds perfect. Lead the way." I say, linking my arm with his.

"Right. Onwards! To Nando's!" Shouts Dan dramatically.

I look at him, giggling slightly. He seems to realise what he had just done and says sarcastically, "Yeah Dan, keep that up 'cause all the ladies love that", at which point I lose it and start laughing. He joins in with his own laugh and I begin to feel a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach. _That is so clich__é__! _

We enter Nando's and are shown to a table. It isn't as busy as I thought it would be. Not that I would have minded if it was, it just meant we didn't have to wait for a table. We ordered our food quickly too, both of us knowing our usual. This meant that we had more time to talk, which I think we were both grateful of- it seemed Dan missed me as much as I missed him.

We were half way through a conversation about Dan's work at Radio 1 when a girl seemed to apparate directly next to Dan's seat.

"OMG it's really you!" She squeals, making both of us jump. We both looked at her confused for a moment before we realised who she was talking about: Dan.

"Is it okay if I get a photo with you? Please?" The girl was basically begging Dan, oblivious to the fact that she was causing the people at the surrounding tables to throw funny looks at us.

"Um…" Dan seems torn whether or not to oblige the girl, no doubt remembering how upset Maddie had made me when she had done the exact same thing not long ago.

"Is that okay with you?" He asks me, not making any motion to get up from his seat.

I blush as all eyes seem to turn to me. The nearby tables are all looking at me, curious to what I'll say. The girl is giving me the deadliest look she can muster as she realises I must be Dan's date. I wave my hands quickly towards the girl.

"Of course!" I say, trying to keep my voice casual. And I do, though my reply is slightly rushed.

Dan smiles at me, his expression of awkwardness and apology replaced with gratefulness and happiness. I can tell he loves it when he has unexpected meetings with fans.

He stands up, smiling at the girl who is now bouncing with excitement. "What's your name?" Dan asks her, putting his arm around her shoulders the same way he did with Maddie.

"Millie!" Replied the girl breathlessly. She looked about ready to faint.

I take this chance to properly look at 'Millie'. She's around 15 years old, with long brown hair. She wears a navy blue T-shirt with the words 'I'm a Danosaur Rawr!' in bold letters and a small cartoon of what must be Dan in a dinosaur costume. I see what he means when he says that they tend to be creepy 12 year olds.

Once Millie has said thank you, hugged Dan and ran back to her own table, we resumed our conversation. Not long after, our food came and we both ate gladly. It seems I'm not the only one who is constantly hungry. This makes me smirk slightly to myself.

As we eat, I think absentmindedly about the night so far. Despite the few fan encounters, the night had gone off without a hitch. I was mildly surprised when I realised this, because I wasn't exactly the luckiest person ever. I mean, yes I had met Dan on a chance encounter and yes that was very lucky and I'm grateful for the slight unluckiness of having my boob elbowed.

But I tended to have really embarrassing moments when I go out which are down to my own accord. If I'm honest, I was actually proud of myself for not spitting my drink everywhere. Because believe me, that happens. A lot.

_Don't worry,_ I think sarcastically_, there's still time._

**Hey guys! Sorry for such a long chapter, but it was a really anticipated chapter so I tried to make it as good as possible! Thank you for reading! Please review, follow, message etc. Much love! x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Date night part 2**

"So is there anything you want to see in particular?" Dan asks as we stare at the screen listing the current film showings.

I continued to scan the different films until one caught my eye. I grinned.

"What about The Hobbit?" I sneak a sideways glance at Dan to see his reaction. He grins at my suggestion.

Turning to look at me he says, "Good choice. I thought I was going to have to sit through something like 'Tinkerbell and the Secret of Wings'." He says, gesturing towards the listings and chuckling slightly.

I screw my face up slightly. "Oh yeah, because that just _screams_ mature. I'm sure that if we went to see that none of the boys would be able to keep their hands off me." I roll my eyes.

Dan stares at me for a second and raises an eyebrow. I replay what I just said in my head.

"No, oh gosh, I didn't mean it like that!" I say as I face palm and turn an unattractive shade of red.

"Sure you didn't." Dan winks at me and I nudge his arm slightly, which only makes his smile widen.

We walk up to the ticket counter and Dan pays for our tickets. We then walk the short distance over to the confectionary stand.

"So what to do you want?" Dan asks as we again stand staring at a screen with all the food listings on it.

I look over at him, shaking my head. I'm not very comfortable with people paying for me, even if it is a date. "Don't worry, I'll buy my own." I say, flashing Dan a smile before stepping up to the counter.

"Are you sure? I don't mind." Dan is stood next to me, looking at me slightly dejected.

I nod. "You've already paid for everything else." Before Dan can answer a guy appears ready to take my order. Dan also has his order taken, but makes sure to pay for only his.

"Besides," I say as we walk over to where the screening is, "if you spend less now, that means you have some money for the next date." I look up at him smirking. He looks down at me and smirks back.

"We haven't even finished this one and you're already planning another?" He asks amused. I shrug, taking a sip of coke. He laughs slightly at my nonchalance and pushes the cinema door open.

We take out seats (not many people are here at this time so we're able to get good ones) and we both have seemed to relax even more. We mess around for a bit, putting on our 3D glasses and posing with over the top duck faces. Dan takes out his phone and takes a photo of us doing this, and I must admit it's a very nice photo.

"I'm glad this is going well," Dan says, looking down at his phone, "I was kinda worried this would go wrong."

"Why's that?" I ask curiously, popping a few pieces of popcorn into my mouth.

"Well," Dan starts awkwardly, "When I was younger I brought a girl on a date to the cinema and I – uh- accidentally punched her in the face."

At this point I start choking on the popcorn. I quickly swallow but can't stop laughing, and it's not helped when Dan says "Hey, don't laugh!" But he too then begins to laugh, and before soon we're receiving dirty looks form a couple of people sitting not far away. Which is totally unfair. The film hasn't even started yet!

After we finally stop laughing and shushing each other, I take a sip of coke. "Sorry, but that is hilarious!"

"She didn't think so." Dan says with a chortle.

"No, I guess not. You better not do that to me!" I say, throwing a piece of popcorn at him. I don't know why, but all maturity seems to have been temporarily forgotten.

He picks the piece of popcorn off his front and places it in his mouth. "Oh don't worry, that was aaaaages ago! I've had plenty of time to perfect my moves." This is accompanied by the hand gesture most people do when they mention something being smooth.

I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter again, so instead I snorted slightly. I seriously must not be the only one that remembers how we actually met. I quickly take a sip of coke as I try to stop myself from having another laughing fit.

The film soon starts and we both fall silent. I'm glad Dan isn't one of those people who find it necessary to constantly talk all the way through a film. After a while, I a chill starts to creep over me. _Jeez, why do they always have to have the air-con on the sub-zero setting? _I ask myself, pulling my coat around my shoulders. I feel an extra weight on my shoulders and I jump slightly. Looking around I realise Dan has his arm around my shoulder.

He smiles at me and I swear that I feel myself warm up slightly. I snuggle closer to him, wanting him to warm me up some more.

Unfortunately, I'm not the most coordinated of people. So as I shifted in my chair slightly and leant over, I moved my arm. And knock my coke out of the holder and into Dan's lap.

"Shit!" I curse, as we break apart. Dan hurriedly picks the coke cup up and holds it in his hand, assessing the damage.

"Oh God, I am so sorry!" I whisper frantically as I sit with my hands covering my face mortified.

"It was only accident, don't worry." Dan says as he stands up adding "I'll just go sort myself out."

As walk away down the row I hear him murmur, "Jesus Christ", under his breath.

I just sit there, unable to do anything but stare after him. My face is red hot and my eyes sting as I tear up. _Oh no_. _I've blew it. _

I begin to mop up the spillage as best as I could with a couple of napkins I had picked up when we had brought our snacks. Tears well up and fall as I lean to wipe down his seat and the floor. My hands are sticky by the end of it, so I pull hand sanitizer from my handbag and squirt a small bit onto my hand. I focus on this, regulating my breathing to a steady pace. I've given up on the film.

I put my head into my hands. I had realised that Dan was still wearing his coat, and therefore had everything he had brought with him. Except me. Meaning he could leave.

My shoulders sag in defeat. No one else in the screening had noticed anything was amiss, and for this I was grateful. Should I stay and see whether he comes back? Or should I leave now before I look like too much of an idiot?

As I had more or less decided to leave now that I had already missed some of the film, I felt the seat next to me move slightly, as if someone had just sat down. _Wait a minute…_

I take my head out of my hands to see a confused looking Dan. At that moment the screen lit up slightly brighter than before and I saw Dan's expression change to one of shock.

"Hey, it's okay," He whispers soothingly, carefully putting an arm around me again, "There's no need to cry over it." He looks awkward, not knowing what to do.

I quickly wipe my eyes. "Sorry. I thought you had…I mean, most people would have…" I trailed of, not finding the right words.

"You thought I was going to walk out on you?" Dan asks with a scoff. "Not likely."

I just stare at him. Now it's my turn to be confused and shocked. "Wait, what?"

"If I'm perfectly honest, I'm surprised it was you not me to do something like this." Dan continues with a chuckle. I'm speechless, so I just go right on staring.

He looks at me, an amused look on his face "I guess we're even now." And with that, he turns his head back to the screen leaving his arm around me. I don't move for a minute, afraid to do something stupid again, but I slowly ease back into my seat. Once I had finally calmed down a bit more, I slowly leant sideways and rested my head on Dan's shoulder which was met with a kiss on my forehead.

Luckily, there were no further mishaps after that and we were able to finish watching The Hobbit happily. Dan offered to walk me back to the apartment and I gladly accepted, not really liking the idea of walking home on my own in the dark. As we walked, we discuss how good an actor Martin Freeman is, which leads to the topic of Sherlock. Dan shows me his Benedict/Otter impression and I begin to feel less awkward.

We reach my apartment and Dan walks me up to my door. Once we reach my door we both stop. I look into his dark brown eyes, feeling a slight blush coat my cheeks. Well, it hadn't really left since the cinema incidence.

"Thanks Dan, I had a great time." I look down at my shoes and fiddle with the key in my hand adding, "Sorry I ruined it."

Dan pulls me into a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head. I wrap my arms around him.

"I've already told you, it doesn't matter. Okay?" He pulls back, keeping his hands on my shoulders and looks straight into my eyes. He's smiling in a very cute way: A mixture of amusement and awkwardness. I've realised by this point that that was just how Dan was.

I nod, unable to speak again. I know this is a cliché, but I really do feel like I'm melting. It's a very strange sensation actually. His smile grows with my response.

"Jeez, could you get any cuter?" He asks, and before I know it he's kissing me. I'm rooted to the spot for a split second, but then my eyes close instinctly and I kiss him back.

We both seem to break the kiss at the same time. We both smirk at each other and Dan promises to not leave it as long as last time before he calls. And with a quick kiss on the cheek, a "Bye!" and a wave goodbye, he's turned and walking down the hall.

I stay where I am for a moment, collecting myself before I quickly shove my key in the lock and yank the door open, to reveal a stumbling Maddie.

I sigh as she catches herself before face-planting the floor. "Seriously, you shouldn't snoop. It's rude and a bad habit." I say as I walk by, throwing my things down and closing the door behind me.

"So how did it go? Did it go well? Did he kiss you? Seeing you again soon? TELL ME!" Maddie pounced, bouncing with excitement and energy I never have understood how she could retain at such a time. I slide down with my back to the door exhausted.

"It went really well actually," I start, unzipping my boots and pulling them off, "Until I spilt a regular coke onto his crotch." I casually throw my boots to my right without making eye contact.

There's a pause as Maddie comprehends this, before it hit her. "YOU _WHAT_?!"

I exhaled deeply and tiredly rubbed my eyes. I could tell this was going to be a _long_ night.

**Hey guys! Sorry about taking so long to update, but I haven't really got any excuse other than I'm just really good at procrastinating. **

**So how do you like it so far? Please review I absolutely love reading them no matter what they are!**

**Thank you so much for reading and I hope you continue on with this story.**

**Much love! x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- Misunderstandings**

"LUCE!"

I turn, jamming my right arm into the sleeve of my coat. Laura scurries over in her usual energetic manner.

"I've been trying to talk to you all day, but it's been so busy!" Laura says loudly as I slip my left arm into it's sleeve.

"Ah, I know. What's up?" I ask, confused. Laura was closer to Maddie than she was to me, we were just work friends really, so she doesn't tend to go out of her way to talk to me.

"I heard!" She crows excitedly. I freeze in the action of un-tucking my hair from my coat collar.

Looking up at Laura, I collect my thoughts before asking, "Heard what?" before resuming getting ready to leave work.

"About Dan! You know, Danisnotonfire Dan!" The accompanying look added an 'obviously' onto the end.

"How did you…" I trail off, sudden annoyance overwhelming me. Of course I knew how she would find out. There's only one way really.

"Maddie put it on Facebook. Did you not see it?" She asks, pulling her phone out from her pocket and tapping the screen.

"No, I didn't." _Maddie is sooooo dead to me._

"Oh, I thought you would have, considering you live on the internet." I turn to see that another person has joined the conversation in the form of Aelish. _Seriously, can I not just go home?_

"So did you meet him then?" Asks Laura, still looking down at her phone as she walks away to grab her coat.

"Yes I did. He's a really nice guy." I say with a sigh as I sit on the staff room bench.

"I didn't realise you met him too! That is so unfair!" Whines Aelish, pushing my arm slightly.

I look at her confused. "What do you mean you didn't think I'd met him?"

"We thought Maddie had met him. She put a photo of her and Dan on Facebook and Tumblr so…" Replies Laura, briefly turning her phone around to show the photo Maddie had taken when she first met Dan.

"Oh." I sighed with relief. _I take it back. Maddie, you're no longer dead to me._

"Are you guys ready to go?" I ask, changing the subject so that I could maybe get home and eat. If I wasn't back in time for when Maddie does the cooking then I don't get anything.

Laura and Aelish both reply with "yeah"s and so finally we begin to exit the building. I walk slightly ahead of the others as we head towards the underground, not really knowing what to talk about. Instead, I listen to their gossip about who's doing what, what they thought of the latest episode of 'Glee' and customers who had pissed them of during the day, but not really paying much attention to them until I heard something which made my ears prick up.

"Apparently he was saw with a mystery girl by someone in a restaurant…"

"Oh yeah, I saw that on Tumblr. You don't think…"

"You don't think that it could be Maddie?"

My face reddend as I realised what had happened. The girl from Nando's (Was her name Millie or something?) had obviously fangirled over meeting Dan but then bitched about the fact that he was with some 'mystery girl' on what looked to be a date. And they thought it was Maddie because of the photo. _Awkward… _

I try to tell myself to not get involved. That they can think what they want, it's just rumours and _I _know it's not true. That's all that matters.

But to be honest, no one ever really listens to reason, do they?

"It can't be Maddie!" I blurt out. By this point we are waiting on the busy platform for the next tube so my sudden outburst makes the people around us jump slightly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Asks Laura, obviously taken aback by the annoyance in my voice.

"The mystery girl Dan was seen with. It can't be Maddie." I repeat, my voice once again calm. I look away from Laura as the tube pulls in. We quickly step on, each of us snagging a seat before Aelish carries on talking.

"How can you be so sure though? Do you not think Maddie is capable of dating a buy like Dan?" She sneers. No doubt she would be messaging Maddie when I'm not looking.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that, I just-" I flounder before being cut off.

"Ooooooh, Maddie wouldn't be happy if she knew you were talking about her like this!" Laura says mockingly without taking her eyes off her phones display or pausing her tapping.

I sigh in frustration. "All I'm saying is that it couldn't have been Maddie because she's not been out lately."

The tube pulled into a station and I was relieved to realise it was my stop. I stood up quickly.

"Well, this is my stop. See you next week." They replied with mumbles of "Cya" as I edged my way towards the doors. They opened and I stepped out, walking quicker than usual to try and get back to explain everything to Maddie.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. _Great. It seems Maddie just got the message from Laura. _I pulled it out and opened the new message:

_**You better get here quickly. You have a lot of explaining to do missy. **_

I shoved my phone in my pocket and continued to power walk alongside the business people out of the station and onto the street. I started to walk in the direction of the apartment before having a sudden idea. I quickly redirected myself and soon I was greeted with the comforting aromas of coffee and pastries as I stepped into Starbucks. I feel a slight smile curve my lips as I remember the last time I had been in here, but quickly shake away the memories away before I drift into a daydream and join the small queue.

20 minutes or so later, I unlock the door while balancing two cups of hot chocolate and clutching a small bag containing two muffins between my teeth. The door swings open and I hurriedly find my way to the counter and set the cups and bag down, before walking back over and locking the door.

Turning I spot Maddie on the settee watching a film. I instantly recognise the film and my stomach drops slightly. 'Spirited Away', the film she watches whenever she's upset. _Damn it._

I grab the drinks and the muffins and plonk myself on the settee. She doesn't take her eyes off the TV screen. I place my drink on the coffee table and grab the remote, pressing the pause button. This causes her to look over at me with a glare. I just sigh and hand her the cup.

"Here, I bought these for you." Tossing her the bag once I'd taken out my blueberry muffin.

She just stares at me frostily. So I continue to do as she instructed- explain.

"I don't know what Laura or Aelish told you, but I didn't say anything about you." I take a bite of my muffin as she continued to stare at me. I couldn't help but get annoyed at the way she was treating me from what she heard from someone like _Laura._

"Do you really believe what they say over me? Is that how much you trust me?" I know I sound like one of those girls from a cheesy drama or Jeremy Kyle, but that's really how I feel right now.

Maddie looks away from me stubbornly, taking a huge bite of her own blueberry muffin. Once she's swallowed it, she says, "Sorry, but it's hard not to get upset when someone tells you your best friend just said that you wouldn't be able to 'get with' someone like Dan."

"For God's sake Maddie, I didn't even-"

"I know! I just told you I'm sorry!" Maddie shouts at me, throwing a piece of muffin in my face.

We sit there for a minute, both shocked at her actions before we break down into a fit of giggles. Once we have recovered, we sit closer together and un-pause the film for background noise.

"So, do you want to explain what was really said?" Maddie asks, placing the last of the muffin in her mouth. I nod and begin to retell the conversations of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Bet on it**

It wasn't long until Dan rang, just like he'd said.

I hesitate momentarily, staring at the door of Dan and Phil's apartment. I took a deep breath to steady my excited heart before knocking three times.

Moments later the door swung open to reveal a familiar smiling face, but it wasn't Dan. It was Phil. "Um, hi. I'm here to see Dan…" I trail off nervously. _Did he forget?_

"Yup he told me, he's just finishing a bit of editing I think." Phil says, looking a bit unsure about what to do.

Nevertheless, he steps back slightly and sweeps his arm dramatically, gesturing for me to come inside as he says, "Come on in."

I smile gratefully and cross the threshold, walking past Phil to stand in the middle of the room. Phil closes the door behind me and I glance around curiously in the manner most people use when entering new surroundings. I hear Phil close the door behind me and walk around to open a door to my right, calling "Dan! Your guest is here!"

He pauses, his head cocked to one side to listen for movement, before looking at me and rolling his eyes. "He's probably got his headphones on. Let's go to the living room anyway." He begins to walk through the door and I quickly follow.

Not far down the passage Phil pauses outside a door. Unsure of what to do, I too stop. "The living room's through that door there," Phil says, pointing towards the door at the end of the passage, "We'll be with you in a sec." He smiles at me before turning to the door and knocking.

I turn and walk towards the indicated door slower than usual, opening it to find the living room I had seen once before in a video. I nervously walk over to the settee and sit down, taking off my coat and bag and placing them next to me. I can hear a muffled conversation from down the passage accompanied by the sounds of hurried movements.

The door opened, but it still wasn't Dan. Phil instead walked over and sat down at the other end of the settee where a laptop had been put down. I must have interrupted him. _Ooops._

"I'm Phil by the way," he says with a smile, holding out his hand.

"I'm Lucy," I say smiling back and shaking his hand shyly. My shyness wasn't helped by the fact that I couldn't stop thinking how much I actually knew about Phil, let alone his name, thanks to Maddie and her stalker ways ("Stalker is such a harsh word, I prefer _in-depth researcher_).

"Ah, it's nice to finally meet you!" He genuinely sounds please to meet me. _I like Phil, I see why everyone seems to get along with him now. What a sweetie._

I open my mouth to reply (with what I'm not entirely sure) when a slightly flustered Dan appears through the door.

"Sorry, sorry, I lost track of time!" He says as he hurries in, adjusting his already perfect hair. _Man I want to touch that hair._

"It's fine." Me and Phil look at each other, both having said the same thing at the same time, before all three of us burst into laughter. As a result, the atmosphere became relaxed.

"Do you want a drink?" Dan asks, walking towards the small kitchen area.

"Yes please."

Dan hands Phil a can of coke, places another on the table before handing me the last one asking "Is Coke okay?" almost as a second thought.

I smirked at him before eyeing the can with mock suspicion. "That depends. Is it laced with rohypnol?"

Phil almost choked on his drink as Dan just smirked at me. "I promise that this _unopened_ can of Coke is not laced with rohypnol." He chuckled, handing me the can. I took it off him still smiling.

"So what did you want to do today?" I asked, looking over at Dan who was seated at the table.

"Hmm, well I thought we could just hang out. You know: watch a film, eat some pizza and just…talk" He answers with a shrug. Does he think I'm going to say it's a stupid idea?

I smile, genuinely pleased with the plans for the evening. "That sounds perfect."

Dan grins at me, taking a sip of his Coke. "Alright, cool. So what film-"

"But first," I cut in, making Dan look at me in confusion, "Can we play a video game?" One of the videos I had watched of Dan and Phil was the 'Wall of doom' one where they play Sonic, and I wanted to see just how good I was compared to them.

"You play video games?" Phil asks me. He wasn't shocked or accusing, rather he seemed pleased.

I nod. "I used to play Mario and Sonic and stuff on my DS, but I don't really get chance to anymore. And whenever I played 'Crash Bandicoot' or 'Dead or Alive' on the X-box I got really…violent." I can't help but laugh slightly remembering how many times I had almost broken various consoles whenever I died.

Dan and Phil just stared at me. I took a sip of my drink, staring back before smiling at them both unfazed. A smile spread across Dan's face as he stood up and retrieved the console from near the T.V. I place my drink on the floor as Dan sets the game up- I recognise the cover of 'Sonic'- and retakes his seat next to me.

"Okay, I'm warning you now, I've only played sonic on the DS so I probably won't be very good." I warn as I press START and choose NEW GAME.

"Don't worry," Dan reassures, "You'll probably still be better than Phil".

"Hey!" Phil protests with mock anger. I chortle slightly as Dan continues to tease Phil as the titles play. All too soon it's time for me to play and I feel myself become slightly nervous as Sonic begins to collect rings. I'm aware of Dan's approval and judgement from next to me as I play, but I've become so engrossed in the game I don't pay much attention. Of course I die a fair number of times. That was to be expected. But I finally finish, stretching out my back with a sigh and flexing my hands.

_Well done Luce, if that doesn't impress him I don't know what will _sneers my internal monologue. I slowly look over at the guys to ascertain their reactions. Phil was groaning in defeat as Dan appeared to be taunting him.

"What happened?" I ask tentatively. _I should have been paying attention more._

"Phil lost the bet, that's what happened!" Dan proclaims triumphantly. I continue to look back at Dan incomprehensive, raising an eyebrow. _What bet?_

Dan's smile reduces in size slightly as he realises I haven't got a clue what he's talking about. "I bet that you were going to be better at playing than Phil. He didn't believe me so I said that if you do better than he did the last time he played, he had to pay for the pizza." He looked back over at Phil. "In fact, I think it's time for pizza now. Phillip, would you be a dear and order it?" a smirk has replaced the triumphant smile. Phil rolls his eyes as he exits the room.

Once Phil has left Dan turns back to me, triumphant again. "I knew it. I knew you were an awesome person." I blush slightly at this compliment, about to retort with something witty, but unable to as at that moment Dan leans in and kisses my cheek lightly. _Holy shit, he smells so good! _

He leans away from me and winks. At that point Phil walks back in, a phone in one hand and a menu for what I was assuming was some pizza place. "What do you guys want then?" He asks grudgingly.

I just shrug as I look at Dan. "I don't really mind, I like most pizza." And then realising that I don't want to seem unenthusiastic I add. "Pepperoni?"

"A large pepperoni then please Phil." To which Phil responded to with a nod as he again excited the room, dialling a number as he went.

"So what film are we going to watch?" I carry on the previous conversation before I had interrupted with my request, taking a sip of my almost empty can.

"That depends. We have an… extensive collection of various DVDs to choose from. So it all depends on what you feel in the mood for."

After spending a lengthy amount of time deciding on what film we should watch we settled on my favourite film, 'Howls Moving Castle', as we settled back onto the settee and pressed play. We watched about 15 when there was a knock at the door and we heard Phil's voice as he thanked the delivery boy and paid. He then brought it the pizza and joined us to eat. Once we had all eaten Phil left again claiming he had 'work to do' and retreated back to his room.

I snuggle up to Dan, feeling content as I lean my head on his shoulder and his arm goes around mine. I begin to feel my eye lids grow weary as the film continues, but I'm determined not to fall asleep.

_Stop it Luce, you can't fall asleep here. _

_Stay awake, you don't want to seem boring._

_Open your eyes. Open them now goddamnit._

_Open. Them._

_Open…_

**Hey guys! So I realise that I have taken procrastination to a whole new level this time, but in my defence I've had a lot of exams and homework and revision and… I'm sorry okay?**

**All credit for this chapter actually getting written goes to my friend Millie for nagging me about it and scaring me into submission. So yeah.**

**Thank you all for reading and please leave reviews, messages, follow etc. etc. and I will make more of an effort to update. Much love! x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Silent mode**

The first thing I become aware of is the dream I'd just woke up from- no not a dream, these were _memories- _of the night before. I smile as this dawns on me and pull the covers tighter around me, burying my face into my pillow…

_Wait. This isn't my pillow, it doesn't smell right…and these covers are too heavy…but I recognise that smell, what is it.._

Blearily I open my eyes to assess my surroundings, blinking in the attempt to focus them quicker. And then I realise where I am. I prop myself up on my elbow quickly enabling me to survey the other side of the room. The silver chair, the weird ass lamp, there's no mistaking it; I'm in Dan's room.

"Shit." I let myself fall back onto the bed. I can feel my face on fire as I check that I'm alone in the bed. I am, but I don't know whether I should feel relieved or disappointed.

_Stop it _I warn myself sternly, evening out my breath as I stare up at the ceiling. What do I do now? Wait until Dan wakes up and hope he comes to find me? Go and look for him? Leave?

I pad quietly to the door and exit the room, shutting the door softly behind me. _Fuck! I still don't know my way around here! _I decide that my best bet is to see if Dan is in the lounge, so I just have to retrace my steps from the previous night. I find it easily to my great relief, where a sleeping Dan is stretched out on the settee.

I feel guilty for making him sleep on the settee, but I console myself in the fact that he probably just fell asleep while playing Skyrim or something. Feeling like a creeper just standing watching him sleep, I move closer and whisper, "Dan."

No response. "Dan." I repeat in a slightly louder whisper. I'm well aware of the fact that if Dan is still asleep, so is Phil. _Man, youtubers have weird sleep patterns._

Sighing in frustration I give up with trying to wake him up gently. I stand next to his head, leaning in close enough that my hair fell forwards and brushed his face, making his head move slightly. _This is ridiculous._

"Dan." I say at normal volume.

Dan jumped, which was a response I was expecting, but since I was still tired myself I hadn't really thought my plan through. So as he jumped, his head smacked into my face, causing me to swear louder than I would have liked.

"Jesus fucking Christ Luce! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Dan sounded annoyed and I imagined he was rubbing his forehead or something, but considering I was doubled over clutching my own face…I couldn't be sure.

"Sorry" I mumble through my hands. _Why the hell do these things always happen to me?_

Dan sighed. "God, are you okay?" He began to pull my hands away from my face and I didn't resist. I open my eyes to Dan scrutinising my face, just inches away.

"Well," he decided after a further minute or so, "there seems to be no damage." He let go of my face and ran his hand through his hair as he asked, "What the hell were you doing anyway?"

I shrug. "Waking you up. You seem to be a heavy sleeper."

"So are you" he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, about that…you sure you didn't put any rohypnol in my drink yesterday?" A part of me was seriously beginning to wonder if he had or not.

"No, I swear!" he chuckled. _Good, I broke the tension._

Absentmindedly I move around to make myself more comfortable. As I do this, my hand brushes past something at the side of the settee, and curiously I pick it up. _Oh hey, look! It's my phone!_ I press the button to check whether it still has battery, but I'm greeted with more than that.

My stomach drops as I sweep the glass to unlock my phone revealing 5 new messages, all of which are from Maddie. I scrolled to the earliest message from around 11pm last night:

_**Hey, are you going to be much later? I don't want you to get raped or something on the way home.**_

And then the next one, at around midnight:

_**Wait, are you staying at Dan's? I don't mind, I'd just like you to let me know bro.**_

And then:

_**Okay, seriously Luce, text me back or call or something. I'm getting worried now.**_

And:

_**TEXT ME BACK BITCH I'M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT SERIOUSLY. I WILL REPORT YOU AS A MISSING PERSON, DON'T THINK I WON'T.**_

"Oh for God's sake!" I exclaim as I realise that there have been 3 miss calls all from Maddie. The last one had been from 6 this morning. "Maddie is freaking out because she couldn't get hold of me last night," I inform a confused looking Dan as I check the time. 10:30. _Shit, _"I'm going to be in so much trouble" I whine, as I get up to ring her back.

"I'll go and ring her. Is it okay if I stand in the landing?" Dan nods in response and I move out into the landing joined to one of the many sets of stairs. I go and sit on these as I wait for Maddie to pick up. I don't wait long.

"Oh, so you've decided to call now?" An irritated Maddie accuses straight away.

"Sorry! I fell asleep while we were watching a film so I couldn't ring y-"

"You had your phone turned off again, didn't you?" Maddie's voice was rising in volume.

"No I didn't!" I reply indignantly "It was on silent and down the side of the settee!"

"Hey, don't shout at me! I was just worried! I mean, technically, we don't know Dan or Phil so what else was I supposed to do when you weren't answering your phone?" Maddie countered on the defence.

"I'm sorry okay? What else do you want me to say?" I end with a sigh, trying to lower my volume.

"There isn't really much you can say, but you can be sure you're doing the chores for at least a month."

"Okay, I expected as much." Why is it that I always feel like a little kid when Maddie's annoyed with me?

"So I'll ask you again, when do you think you'll be back?" She seemed to be less angry now; she's already at her grumpy stage. Thank God.

"I should be an about an hour, 2 tops, okay? I promise."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye." The call ended.

I walked back into the lounge, sighing heavily.

"Is everything okay now?" Dan asks, turning away from the T.V.

"Yeah, she's annoyed but I think she's realised she overreacted a bit." I run my fingers through my hair. "I told her I'd be back in about an hour. Two at the most." I put my hands on my hips as was customary of me when I was talking to someone while standing up.

"Well, we better get some breakfast then." Dan says cheerfully as he pushed himself out of the settee. We navigate our way from the lounge to the kitchen. Dan flicks on the light and opens the door, which I notice is made of glass.

"Isn't this dangerous?" I wonder out loud, pointing to the door.

"It is at 3 in the morning when you forget about it." Dan chuckles as he grabs two bowls and two spoons and places them on the work surface. He then pulls open a cupboard an grabs a box of cereal, placing it next to the bowls as he grabs the milk from the fridge. All while I stand awkwardly watching.

"You know, you're a lucky girl." Dan says as he pours the cereal into the two bowls.

"Oh? And why's that?" I raise an eyebrow at him as he turns, pointing to the box of cereal still in his hand.

"Because I don't share my cereal with just anyone." He replies with a with a serious nod, before turning back to the bowls. "By the way, don't tell Phil. He'll want to start eating it."

I laugh as I remember Maddie's parting words of advice yesterday; "Oh, and don't eat his cereal. He'll get mega pissed at you."

Dan hands me my bowl and I gratefully spoon a mouthful into my mouth as I follow him back into the lounge to sit at the table.

"So you're in a lot of trouble when you get home then?" Dan asks, breaking the silence which had fallen. It wasn't an awkward silence. We were just quiet because we were preoccupied with eating.

"Nah, I think I'm okay. She was pretty pissed at first, but she seemed okay near the end of the call. I have to do the chores for a while though." I screw my face up as I add the last part, causing Dan to laugh.

"Oh God, not chores!" He says in a deep, mocking voice. "I didn't realise it was that bad. Maybe you should just live here from now on and avoid her." He laughs.

"Thanks, but I don't think I could cope with your sleeping patterns." I smirk, before finishing my cereal off.

"Hey, it's not that weird!"

"You'd end up giving me a heart attack when you have one of your late night snacks." I say matter of factly. I wasn't even exaggerating; noises at night scare the hell out of me.

"Well, it looks like you'll just have to face up to Maddie then." He says smirking.

Exhaling deeply, I part my hair in the middle at the back and bring it forwards. _I really need to brush my hair…_

"Hey Dan?" I ask shyly.

"Mmm?" Dan asks as he places one bowl on top of the other.

"Is it okay if I, like, use some mouthwash and some deodorant and …stuff?" Why is this so awkward for me?

Dan seemed slightly taken a back, but replied with "Oh, yeah, sure. Um…come on, I'll show you where everything is." And we were moving back out of the lounge, over to the kitchen to drop off the bowls and then up the many stairs to Dan's room.

"Are you sure you're okay smelling like a guy?" he queries as he hands me a can of deodorant.

"Isn't it every one of your fangirls dreams to smell like you?" I tease, as a brush is also placed in my hand.

"Hmmm, I guess you're right," Dan replies as we walk down the stairs to the bathroom, "does that make you one of my fangirls?" Dan turns to stare at me, smirking.

I blush as I realise I did just basically call myself a fangirl. "No!" I say as I push pass Dan into the bathroom. It seems we have both given up trying to be quiet. _I'll have to apologise to Phil at some point…_

I can still hear Dan laughing as I close the door and stare at myself in the big mirror. _And Dan thought _he_ was embarrassing._ I get to work brushing the tangles from my hair and making sure I don't smell. I would have liked to straighten my hair, but I honestly couldn't be bothered to trek back to Dan's room, so I just left it. I opened the door and stuck my head out to find Dan still stood near the door. "Shall I leave these in here or..?" I ask, referring to the things I had taken in with me.

"Yeah, you might as well." Dan smiles at, obviously still finding the previous conversation funny, making me pull a face at him.

"Aw come on, you're not annoyed with me because of what I said are you?" Dan complains as I make my way back down the millions of stairs.

"Nope." I say. I wasn't annoyed…not with Dan anyway.

Arms encircled me, making me jump slightly at the sudden touch. "Hey, I'm sorry okay? I was only joking. Don't be annoyed." Dan's voice had adopted a soothing tone, making it impossible to stay annoyed.

I turn to face him, his arms still around me. "I'm not annoyed with you, stupid. I'm just a little embarrassed of myself." I put my arms around his neck, standing on my tiptoes as I did so. He really is quite tall.

He smiles warmly at me. "Good." Before leaning down and kissing me gently on my lips.

I smile back at him when we break apart, before realising that I had taken a bit longer to leave than I intended. "Crap, I need to leave." I murmur as I turn and continue my way to the lounge, pulling Dan by the hand as I do so.

I quickly pick up my coat and bag, and slip my phone into my pocket before taking Dan's hand again and walking down the stairs to the front door, where I shove my shoes on.

"Thank you for letting me stay over, and I'm sorry you ended up sleeping on the settee." I say as I jam my foot into my converse.

"Don't worry about it." Dan waves it off, like a true British person.

"Oh, and I had a great time last night. You know, before I fell asleep." Dan just looks at me as if he doesn't know how to reply, so I give him the thumbs up sign. He shakes his head at me as if to say _"What am I going to do with you?"_

"Okay, I'm ready to go. Tell Phil I said thank you as well. Bye!" I say in a rush, opening the door .

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Dan shouts, closing the door quickly before I can leave.

"What?" I ask exasperated. _Does he really not want me to leave that badly?_

"I forgot to tell you! Phil's throwing a party in a couple of days for his birthday. I had a word with him and he says that you can come, if you'd like."

"I'd love to! I haven't been to a party in a while actually…"

"Me neither actually," Dan smirks, "Oh, and Maddie's invited too."

"Maddie? Really?" My voice gets higher on the 'really?' "I mean, I love her an all, but considering this is Phil's party, there are going to be youtubers at it, right?"

"Yeah.."

"And since it's Phil, it'll be people like PJ and Chris, right?"

"Yeah, they're a few. There's gonna be other youtubers. That's why Phil suggested you had someone you knew who wasn't."

"He realises Maddie will be a fangirling mess as soon as she sees the outside of your apartment?"

"Hmmm, I guessing he does." Dan says with a laugh. "But if you really think it's best she doesn't come, you don't have to invite her but…"

"No, no, I'd be a horrible human being if I didn't tell her she's invited." I say quickly. "Besides," I add, "this will probably make her cut down the time I have to do chores!"

"Well that's one way of looking at it." Dan agrees, running a hand through his hair. "So, do you think you'll be able to make it?"

I nod. "Yup, I should be able to. I can't speak for Maddie but…I'm sure she won't pass up the opportunity. I just hope I can keep up with you party animal youtubers." I tease, looking up at Dan with mock concern.

"Hey, youtubers are renowned for getting drunk at parties, I'll have you know." Dan matches my mock concern, with mock seriousness, before smiling down at me. "Not in much of a rush anymore?" He asks, tilting his head to the side slightly.

And suddenly, I seem to snap out of it. "Shit! Damn you Dan!" I say as I wrench the door open again, this time without any interruptions.

I hear him call "Text me later, okay?" Before I close the door behind me.

_When the hell did my life become so chaotic? _

**Thank you for reading guys! Sorry for such a long wait, but I had lots of school work and stuff and I found it hard to stay focused when writing. This chapter is a bit longer than usual, but I just decided to write until I came to a point I was happy with.  
You know the drill. Review, favourite etc, etc.  
Until next time x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Rumour has it**

"Luce, did you text Dan by any chance?" Maddie smirks slightly as she walks into my room.

"Yes Maddie, do come in."

"So did you?" Maddie persists, standing with her laptop in her hands.

"Yeah, I told you I was going to, why?" I ask, placing a book mark in the revision guide I was currently reading.

"Well…Dan just read it out on YouNow." She finishes in a rush.

"He did what, on where?" I questioned, confused. _Have I heard of YouNow before?_

"Here." Maddie placed her laptop on my knee, unplugging her headphones.

And there was Dan still dressed in the same clothes as he had been the last time I'd seen him.

"Okay, so a lot of you are asking who the friend is that sent the message and why you're not invited to the party," Dan said, looking to the side of the webcam at what looks to be some kind of chat section, "the reason you're not invited is because I don't know you and you're twelve." Dan sang with a giggle.

There was a slight pause as Dan adjusted his hair and looked at the chat section again.

"'Do you go out with the person who sent the text?' Well, that's none of your business is it, you creepers." Dan directs at the webcam with a wink. There's a slight pause as Dan hums a tune and looks at his screen before the chat section blows up. But he just ignores it.

A siren goes past in the background and Dan points behind him with a small smile. "Guess the crime!" He says loudly at the webcam, and just like that everyone seems to focus their attention on the game.

_You sly bastard_ I think to myself as I see a small grin on Dan's face. He knows how to work a crowd.

Shaking my head, I begin to push the laptop away from myself but stop at the last minute.

"Luce?" Maddie asks worried.

I quickly pick up the laptop and place it back on my lap, clicking on the Tumblr tab that is already open, typing into the search bar a tag I've never looked at before. I pause again with my index finger hovering over the enter button. _Do I really want to know?_ Yes.

I hit the button and instantly greeted by text post after text post of people speculating over who the mystery girl Dan may or may not be dating.

'**I BET IT'S EMMA! THAT'S WHY HE DIDN'T WANT TO SAY BECAUSE OF ALL THE HATE FROM THE DAN GIRLS OMG SO CUTEEEEE 333'**

'**Noooooooooo what about phil? You belong with him danyulll! D':'**

'**What if it's a fan, but he doesn't want to say because they always say that they won't date fans.**_** We're onto you Dan.'**_

"Emma? Is she another youtuber or something?" I ask Maddie, swivelling the laptop around to show her the text post.

"Yeah, everyone says she a female version of Dan. So obviously everybody started shipping it." She stated matter-of-factly. She picked up the laptop with a small sigh.

"I think it's best if you just let this go, okay? You know how people get when a celebrity they like are rumoured to be dating someone." She shifted her weight onto one leg as she waited for me to respond.

I nodded, rubbing my eyes as I yawned. "I think now would be a good time to watch a film…"

"Waaaaay ahead of you." Maddie says, walking back into my room. _Whoa, I must be tired if I didn't notice her leave._

"Avengers or Spirited Away?" Smirking, Maddie holds up our two favourite films to watch.

"I'll get the popcorn."

"Can you stop bobbing around like that, please?" I ask irritably as we walk up to the door which leads to Dan and Phil's apartment.

"Sorry," Maddie says offhand, dragging the 'y' out, "I'm just so excited! Oh my God you don't actually understand. I just- I just can't."

I roll my eyes as I hold the intercom buzzer down with my finger. "If you can't handle this, then…"

_Man, I am such a horrible person to threaten my best friend like that…_

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm cool and collected and-"

"Hello?" asked a voice from the intercom, interrupting Maddie's rambling.

"Hi Phil, it's Lucy and Maddie." I direct a little louder than usual back.

"Ahh, hey Luce! I'm glad you guys could make it! Come on up." There was a buzzing sound indicating the door was now open.

_And here our ascending of the millions of steps begins _I thought ruefully.

"I wonder where they'll be…" I pondered out loud to myself, lifting my head up to look around, trying to work out where the dull thud of music was coming from.

"Probably the lounge or the kitchen." I answered my own question, averting my attention to my feet again. I did _not_ need to fall over right now.

"Aww, isn't that cute?" I heard Maddie coo just ahead of me. Looking up from my feet again I noticed a piece of paper taped to the wall with a big arrow drawn on, pointing up the stairs. It read **'Party in da lounge'**. I could only assume that it was Dan who had wrote it.

"Yeah, it's real nice of them to make sure our hiking efforts weren't in vain" I sneered. _I really do freaking hate these stairs._

We continued up the stairs, the music getting louder with each step. So far, we hadn't seen anyone else, so I wasn't as nervous as I though-

I'd spoke too soon. As we reached the lounge (with the door open) I could see the group of people occupying the smallish space. None of them seemed to notice us standing stock still near the entrance, which was good since I'm pretty sure that I look like a rabbit caught in the headlights right now.

_Holy shit I really don't know any of these people and I can't see Dan anywhere, Oh shit, shit, shit!_

Maddie seemed to snap out of her trance first, since she nudged me slightly before walking in. The first small group of people we walked past consisted of a girl and two boys have a very animated conversation and laughing very loudly.

"Oh my God! Carrie, Alex and Charlie!" Maddie breathed in my ear. I looked over at them briefly. _I wonder which one is Alex and which one is Charlie…_

"Lucy! Hi!" I whipped my head forward to find that Phil was standing with a bigger group of people. I smiled in relief at knowing at least one other person, and waved.

"Hey Phil. Happy birthday!" I replied cheerfully, which earnt me a hug from Phil in return. I couldn't help but become slightly flustered, since I'd never hugged him before.

"And this must be Maddie!" Phil proclaimed happily.

"Hello Phil…happy birthday." Maddie managed to reply bashfully. I was quite proud that she didn't faint actually, I even sighed slightly in relief when she stayed upright after hugging Phil too. _Plenty of time yet _I assured myself.

"Aren't you going to introduce us all Phil?" Asked a blonde woman to Phil's side.

"Oh right. Sorry," Phil apologised, "This is Bryony." Phil motioned towards the blonde, who smiled and waved slightly.

"This is Bethan." Phil motioned towards a girl with brown hair and a young looking face, who also smiled awkwardly and saluted slightly.

"And this is Jack," Phil said pointing at a tall boy with dark blonde hair, "and Dean." He said pointing at the boy standing next to Bethan.

"Everyone, this is Lucy and Maddie." Phil concluded with a smile.

"Hello." Me and Maddie both say nervously.

"So you're the girl we've heard about, hmmm?" Jack asks, nudging me with his elbow slightly.

"That depends, what have you heard about me?" I countered.

"The one who's been spending a lot of time with Dan lately…" he trails off, unsure.

"I love your dress by the way, where'd you get it from?" Bryony asks me. I automatically look down before smiling at her.

"Thank you", I say in reply, "I got it from…Topshop I think?"

"I quite like Topshop. The sales are great." Bethan says taking a sip from a cup she was holding.

"You're awfully quiet Maddie. We're not scary, honest." Dean says with a flick of his hair and a chuckle.

Maddie appeared to snap back to reality again. _She's been doing that a lot tonight._

"Oh, um, sorry. I'm a fan of your guys' videos, if I'm honest. So this is all a bit surreal for me." Maddie admitted bashfully. I could understand why she would feel nervous admitting it, since she doesn't want to be treated as a fangirl.

"I totally know what you mean. I've met people before who I've admired and I thought I was going to faint. If I ever met Daft Punk.." Dean shook his head.

"She said she liked our videos not that she worships us, mate." Jack replies, earning him a "shut up" from Dean.

"You're sooo egotistical Dean!" Bethan chips in, making everybody laugh as Dean flipped his hair dramatically.

"Hey Phil, do you know where Dan is?" I whisper to Phil, pulling him away from the group slightly.

"He should be in the kitchen with Peej, I think." Phil whispers back. I nod.

"I better try and find Dan so he doesn't think I ignored him." I say to the group, waving slightly. Everyone said various "see you later"'s as I set off to go and find Dan with Maddie (she wants to see 'Peej' no doubt. She never shuts up about him).

We walk down the steps towards the kitchen, Maddie looking this way and that while talking a million miles an hour. Thankfully, we get to the glass door of the kitchen. Its propped open and I can't help but think this was Dan's idea to try and stop himself and other (potentially drunken) guests.

"Luce!" I look up from the bottom of the door to find myself surrounded my Dan.

"Hey Dan." My voice is muffled by his torso as I hug him back. He pulls away and keeps me at arm's length to look at me. "You made it!" he smiles happily. _Looks like he's already started on the wine._

"I did, thanks for inviting us." I smile back as he leans in to give me a quick peck on the lips. _Yup, he's been drinking._

I look past Dan and notice two guys standing farther back, who must be 'Peej' and another of Dan's friends. I move around Dan, linking my right hand with his.  
"Hi, I'm Lucy." I introduce myself, holding my free hand out towards the taller of the two. He has slightly messy brown hair and piercing green eyes. _Okay, if this is 'Peej', I can see why Maddie would be obsessed now.  
_"PJ. Nice to meet you, Lucy." PJ shook my hand with a smile.

"And I'm Chris. I find it nicer to meet you than PJ." Chris nudged PJ out of the way and began to shake my hand in his place, with a weird little laugh. He looked older than the others, but something about him told me he wasn't that much older.

"Oh! Who's your friend?" PJ asks, looking at Maddie, who for the time being had just been staring at PJ and Chris.

"Ah, hello. I'm Maddie." Maddie stumbles, stretching her hand out slightly towards PJ.

"It's nice to meet you too, Maddie." PJ returns.

"Hello." Chris draws the O out as he shakes Maddie's hand after PJ.

"You can go put your stuff in my room if you want Luce, you must be warm in your coat." Dan says next to my ear, to which I nod.

"Okay, but you better have a drink ready for me when I get back," I muse before I kiss Dan on the cheek, "If I'm ever going to catch up to you guys, that is." I wink and leave the room, followed by a flushed Maddie.

We walk back up these god forsaken stairs. Luckily, I remember the way from last time, so we don't look like idiots wandering around. I push the door open and throw my bag and coat onto the bed.

"Hang on a minute. How do you know where his room is?" Maddie inquired sceptically.

"You are seriously not implying what I think you are." I scoffed.

"But did you?!" Maddie pushed, placing her stuff on the bed.

"No! I'm offended that you would even assume that, gawsh Maddie." I banter, pretending to tear up. "I think I need a moment to just get over how hurtful you're being."

Maddie just rolls her eyes and gives me a shove. "I was just teasing. Jesus, and this is you without any alcohol."

"Well, we can change that can't we?" I grin in what I think is a mischievous way, but is probably just creepy, before I hurry back to the kitchen to officially start the evening.

I can tell this night is going to be one to remember.

**Hello everybody! Yes, I'm sorry it has taken me forever to update, but I've had a million exams since the last time I posted, so I had to prioritise. They are over now though! So I will try and update more frequently. I promise nothing.  
You know what to do with all those buttons, so I'll just thank you for reading.  
Until next time! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Cat out of the bag**

I resurface to consciousness with a dull throbbing in my head. Frowning I force myself upright, my stomach now greeting me with unease. Perfect. Squinting slightly I look around myself curiously. After all, I don't remember falling asleep, so I could technically be anywhere.

Luckily, I recognise I'm still in Dan and Phil's living room before I begin to worry. A movement at the other end of the settee (which I currently have my back to) startles me and I whip my head around. It's just Dan, who seems to have fallen asleep sitting with my head in his lap. _What a cutie._

As I watch Dan, a flood of memories from last night hit me _Amnesia_ style: Various people pulling me into various hugs for various photographs to be taken. Drinking games including one for Buffy the vampire slayer (such as taking a drink whenever Spike uses British slang or Giles cleans his glasses). Hearing various stories about Dan from PJ and Chris, most of them of which were embarrassing and made him turn red slightly. Dancing crazily with Maddie and singing. _A lot_ of singing.

I smile at the memories. I'm just glad that I didn't get too drunk or I may not have remembered them. I lay my head back on Dan's lap as I try to get my body near to the norm.

_Hehe, if I'm this bad I bet Maddie's even wor-_

I shoot upright as my stomach twists with dread. Maddie. Where the fuck is she? Scanning the room I can see she isn't there and my breathing picks up in panic. Is she upstairs? I swing my legs over the side of the settee and pause as the room begins to spin slightly. Once I can see straight again I push myself to stand upright (slower this time) and make my way painstakingly slow out of the room to the stairs.

_Oh fuck me_, I glared at the stairs. _This will _not_ be fun._

I grip the banister and virtually drag myself up one step at a time, falling into a rhythm after the first 5 and finally reach Dan's bedroom. My logic is that if Maddie had tried to go home she would have come to get her coat and bag first, and so may have passed out in here. Either that, or it was the only place she knew there was a bed.

Sure enough, as I peek into the already ajar door I can see a body lying face down across the bed. I can't tell who's body it is exactly, but it looks to be small enough to only belong to Maddie, which was confirmed when I move closer and recognise her favourite dress. "Oh thank God" I breathe in relief. I slump onto the bed next to Maddie and poke her face until she begins to stir. "Wake up Mr Alex, rise and shining."

Maddie opens an eye, recognises that it is indeed me (since who else would quote Madagascar in this situation?) before groaning and curling into a foetus position. "Luce? What the hell. Are you still drunk?"

"That's ironic coming from the girl who fell asleep after face planting the bed." I smirk.

"Shut up." Maddie mumbles in response.

I pick my bag up off the floor where it must have fallen and pull out my phone. I press the lock screen button to show the display screen and frown. I have _a lot_ of Facebook and twitter notifications. _What in the world…?_

I unlock my phone and open up Facebook. I scroll through friend requests from everybody at the party and lots of photos people uploaded from last night. Hold up. Something's not right.

Photos of me with people from the party.

Photos of me and Dan together.

On Facebook.

For everyone to see.

_Jesus fucking Christ on a bike._

"Maddie." I choke out, my throat still dry from the alcohol.

"What now?" she sighs, not bothering to move from her position.

I wordlessly open up a message from Laura and hold it out towards her. After a few minutes of silence, she finally opens her eyes and repeats, "What is it?" before noticing my face. Silent tears are running down my cheeks and I can't be bothered to wipe them away. Her face becomes alert as she takes my phone from me and reads the open message:

'_**Are you fucking kidding me? How did YOU get to meet people like them? Did you trick them into thinking you were someone else or something?**_

_**I refuse to even think that you're going out with Dan because THAT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE.**_

_**AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS MESSAGE ME BACK I NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH. DON'T BOTHER TALKING ABOUT IT WITH ME AT WORK. I DON'T THINK I CAN STAND TO LOOK AT YOU RIGHT NOW.'**_

Maddie's eyes stop moving and stare blankly at the screen for a moment. Then she looks up at my face and I can tell she's as taken aback as I am. Blankly she just shakes her head and looks back down at the phone. Neither of us makes any kind of movement or noise as we let the unprovoked hate from someone we thought to me a friend of some sorts sink in.

"There's one from Aelish as well. Jeez, these people really need to sort their priorities out." Maddie's voice is calm, slightly exasperated. This is how Maddie copes with negative emotions from others. She becomes calm and reassuring, while still telling it straight. This always makes me realise how stupid I am for the way I'm acting.

I clear my throat as I wipe away my tears carefully, and making it seem as if nothing had happened. I sigh tiredly and take my phone off Maddie to read to other message:

'_**So it seems we know who the mystery girl is now then? You're one lucky girl, though you better be prepared. No doubt you'll be hated a lot more from now on, if what I'm currently feeling is anything to go by. Envy doesn't feel too good, you know?**_

_**Well, good luck, I guess.'**_

My mouth twitches up into a smile. What did I expect to read off Aelish? She may be slightly exaggerated when around Laura, but she's always been rather levelled off. And she makes a good point too. One, which I must admit I had forgotten about up until now, but knew nonetheless. Now that these photos were viral (Maddie checked, they were on people's twitters and Instagram's too), shit was about to get pretty real.

So the question is, am I ready for this?

I close my eyes and rub my temples, breathing in deep breaths as I walk carefully back down the stairs towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Taking small sips, I weigh up the pros and cons of having a relationship with someone with such a fan base. The cons, of course, are having so many strangers hating you for no tangible reason, but that's all they are; strangers. Then there's the fact that people will always be trying to keep tabs on the relationship, and I don't know whether I can deal with the stress of people constantly waiting for me to make a mistake.

So many thoughts, doubts, feelings and worries are swirling around my head making me wince at the amplified pain of the hangover headache I was already sporting. I was never good at making decisions, especially not important ones. I would always internally stress over every little thing, grieving over whether it was the right thing to do or not. As I had grown up it had subdued slightly thanks to the experiences I had had at 6th form, but I could feel the full force of the anxiety in that one moment.

However, as I walk back into the living room with my stomach churning like crazy, all of the whirling mishmash of thoughts fade away slightly to a frequency that I can ignore for the time being. Because as cheesy as it sounds, I realise the pros of the relationship is right in front of me, now lying on the couch.

And maybe it's the alcohol that's still in my body clouding my judgement, but I don't want to lose him. Regardless of the problems or whatever bullshit I can think of as an excuse to not be with him, the fact that just seeing him has made those worries back off seems to say something about my feelings for him.

I walk over and kiss him gently on his exposed cheek and stroke his hair out of his face. Looking back down, I'm slightly taken aback by his eyes being open. I blush slightly at having been caught.

"Morning." Dan says, sitting himself upright.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I ask apologetically. God knows I hate it when people wake me up on a normal day, never mind after I've been drinking.

"It's okay, it was a pretty nice wake up call." Dan smiles tiredly before he leans over and gives me an equally tired, but lingering kiss with one hand resting on the side of my face. I don't move into the kiss, I just close my eyes. Dan leans back slightly and searches my face with his eyes, looking slightly worried. "_Is_ everything okay? You looked peaceful just now but…"

Okay, so it appears I wasn't ignoring those bastard thoughts as well as I thought I was. _Fuck._

So I just sigh (which appears to be all I can do lately) and stand yet again, pulling Dan with me this time. Dan looks at me perplexed as he stumbles along after me. "Wha-?"

"I'm going to show you why I'm not okay."

**Hey guys! Sorry about not updating for a **_**looooong**_** time, but I haven't really had much inspiration for this lately, if you get on I mean. I will continue with this though, since a certain friend of mine is **_**very**_** pushy and I do enjoy writing this most of the time. Reviews and follows are always welcome, and give any feedback about this you want to, okay?**

**Thank you, and much love! x**


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